Carpet Cleaning and Restoration Blog

Water damage restoration services offer their customers informative guides to help them deal with any kind of water damage in their houses. The best water damage restoration services will provide you with information in situations like home leaks, mold control, how to deal with water damage until water damage restoration experts arrive and other situations.

These tips will be provided to you by any water damage restoration agent regarding how to deal with leaks in order to save your residence and reduce the costs of repairing your place. Let’s see what experts say.

1. Hot Water Tanks:You need to check the pressure relief valve of the tank of hot water regularly because sometimes they are plumbed into a drain. They may be leaking while you have no idea. You will know that they are leaking when you are not able to remove the drain pipe in order to check for a leak. You will listen for a hissing sound when the valves are leaking.

2. Toilets:These steps will show you how to check your toilet for a leak.

• Remove the top off the tank and listen as close as you can. If you heard any hissing, try to locate its source.• After locating the source of the leak, assess it and determine whether you can fix it or not. If you are not able to fix it, call water damage restoration services and have an expert to deal with the problem professionally.• If you didn’t notice anything, put some food coloring with a couple of drops in the tank and wait about 5 minutes. If there is coloring in the bowl, then there is a leak in the flapper at the tank’s bottom. This leak is allowing water to seep through. Decide whether you can fix it by yourself or you need a water damage restoration expert.• Repeat if you have more toilets.

3. Meter Line:Here is how to check your line that is running from the meter to your place if there is no leak in toilets.

• If you have a shut-off valve, turn it off temporarily until you complete your check.• Check the meter. Remove the lid and watch the dial on meter’s top.• If there is any dirt or grass covering the top of the meter, dig around until you can see the meter head clearly. The valve is turned off so if there is any leak, it is between the house and the meter unless you have a leaking valve which is very common too.• To locate the area of the leak, walk the distance between the meter and the valve until you find a sign of leak.• The signs of leak are such as soft muddy area or grass greener than the rest or growing faster.

4. General tips:• Check your garden by looking at hoses, drip irrigation systems and taps. • If you have a swimming pool, call a water damage restoration services to check it for leaks.• Check your shower for leaks; it is a common area for leaks.

We here in Always Preferred Restoration want to offer comprehensive guides about carpets and carpet cleaning to our clients; and this a new chapter of our tips.

We all face carpet cleaning situations when we really need a guide to help us to get through the situation. One of these situations is when the carpet is wet. If the wet spot is not large and can be removed easily, you may remove the carpet from the floor and hang it outside until it dries completely but if the spot is large or you deal with wet-to-wall carpet or the carpet is large, then you need to try to dry it at its place using certain methods. Here are how to deal with this situation.

1. Drying out a Carpet Quickly:Follow the following steps to dry out your carpet.

• Spread some clean towels over the wet area of the carpet. In order to make the towels completely saturated, you will need to walk up and down the area. After that, remove the wet towels and replace them with dry ones and repeat.Notice that you should check that padding and the floor to make sure that they are not wet too.• Use a vacuum until you get no more water.• The wet vacuum cleaner will remove the water from the carpet but it can’t remove it from the padding.• Dump the tank before hitting overflow and it depends on the amount of water that is in the carpet so you may have to fill and refill the tank many times.• Encourage the moisture to evaporate along with using towels and the vacuum.

2. Drying a Wall-to-Wall Carpet:Follow the following steps.

• Move all the pieces of furniture off the wet carpet in order to lift up the carpet and check the pad and the floor underneath it.• Remove the furniture as fast as possible so you can start your carpet cleaning immediately. Also, leaving the furniture on a wet carpet will damage the furniture, the flooring and the carpet.• Try to remove as much of the water as you can.• Of course, you will not be able to take up the entire floor but you definitely should check underneath the carpet.• If you don’t have a vacuum that is capable of removing water, rent one. Don’t use the regular vacuum cleaner as it is not effective.• Check the water many times in the carpet and beneath it until you make sure that the carpet and the floor are completely dry.

3. Drying a Carpet in a Car:Follow the following steps to be able to clean your car carpet well.

• Deal with the car as soon as possible as the mold can take about 24 hours then grow. The mold will cause a lot of problems.• Locate the place of the leak as dealing with the carpets without locating the leak isn’t the smartest move.• Vacuum the carpet well.• Repeat until you get the carpets dry and stop the leak.

if you have a restoration agency that is specialized in fire damages and you are looking for the best ways to market your business in order to reach more and more customers, and then you are reading the right guide. Clients of fire damage restoration services need a company that they can rely on in such tough time and that is what fire damage restoration services should use; they should know how to sell their services according to the needs of their clients in such rough time.

The good impression about your fire damage restoration business is great especially when it comes from experts or from your local customers. Unfortunately, most of the fire damage restoration companies have no idea how to market their business well. This guide will help any owner of such business to earn more customers so let’s discover it.

1. Leveraging Print Ads and Competitive Awareness:These two ways of marketing are so effective when it comes to fire damage restoration services.

• Leveraging Print Ads:Any kind of business can depend on print advertising especially restoration services. It is widely used in the market so you should have it in order to compete with the other agencies in this area. Despite the fact that everything is now done online, you can still depend on printed media to gain certain kinds of customers. These customers are mainly looking for trusted information that you should include in your printed media.

• Competitive Awareness:You need to be aware that the competition is tough in this market in order to be able to create better ways to gain customers. Collect all the information you can about your local competitors. Search for the marketing ways that major companies use and try it.

2. Why do people search for restoration services?Any good marketing campaign should depend mainly on understanding its customers. The following points will tell you why people search for these kind of services.• Your customers will be out searching for you after disasters like a heavy rainfall or a flood.• After disasters, the number of customers will be high so you need to be prepared by equipment, stuff and time for every customer as if he/she is your only customer.• The personal tragedy that these people are suffering from will make them want someone to help fast so the good quality of the work that should be done quickly will be appreciated.• Build a sense of trust with your customers through this difficult situation. Let them know that whatever the situation is right now, it will be okay; they are okay.

3. Online:Nowadays, it is easier for people to search for information online. People search for everything from how to train my pet to how to deal with fire damage so you need to make sure that your service appears among the search results in your area. Hire a search engine optimization experts and tell him/her what you need and they will accomplish it. Online marketing has become essential for any kind of business nowadays.

Choosing the best upholstery cleaner is always a problem that needs to be solved through a clear guide. Steam is one of the common methods used as an upholstery cleaner, yet it is not that easy to use it. Steam is used for many cleaning applications and it has the ability to clean delicate upholstery and fabric furniture.

Steam as an upholstery cleaner may be the most effective tool you will ever use. In fact, it removes stains and spots, sanitizes every possible surface, eradicates allergens, and kills bacteria, viruses, dust mites, bedbugs, mold and most of the pathogens. Here is how to use steam as upholstery cleaner.

1. Preparing your upholstery:

Follow the following steps to prepare your upholstery.• Vacuum your upholstery to clean any dirt, dust, trash or pet hair.• The previous step is essential because some of these things can make your carpet even dirtier if not cleaned first. • If there are any pillows, remove and vacuum them well.• Vacuum the furniture’s back well as there is always leftover trash and crumbs that may mess up the whole cleaning process.• Treat the stains if there are any. Spray them with upholstery cleaner and let the cleaner set so to break down the treated spot.• Leave the cleaner for about 5 minutes than blot it with a soft cloth. • Precondition the fabric before steam cleaning it.• The emulsifier and shampoo will get out of the upholstery when you steam clean it.• Make sure that the fabric can withstand the water.

2. Cleaning the Upholstery:

Follow the following steps to clean your upholstery.• Choose the right steam cleaner as there are many kinds of them.• The most perfect steam cleaners for upholstery are upholstery steam cleaners, fabric steam cleaners, and handheld steam cleaners.• The upholstery steam cleaner is manufactured for this purpose, fabric steam cleaners are manufactured to clean fabric, and handheld cleaners are manufactured for small, tight surfaces.• The cleaners are preferred to be handheld or have detachable wands or hoses.• The standard to pick up a cleaner is that you can work better with it on your particular surface.• Avoid large carpet steam cleaners as they are too bulky. They also don't have fabric cleaning attachments so they will not work on your upholstery properly.• Rent the best upholstery cleaner if you don’t have it.

3. General Tips:

These tips are essential to clean the upholstery properly.• Follow the instructions of the usage of the steam cleaner in order to prepare it well.• It is better if you used water and soap separated than using them together within the steam cleaner.• Start with the cushions. It is better to clean the sides first then moving towards the center.• Steam the rest of the upholstery.• If you noticed a spot, don’t wait until the upholstery dry out and clean it once you notice it.• Let the furniture dry out. Use a fan to speed up the drying process.• If you noticed a discoloration or you are not convinced with the cleaning, repeat the whole process again.

Not all stains are the same. That is why we always create new carpet cleaning solutions to overcome these stains.

Hiring a professional carpet cleaning company is expensive so why would you hire a professional carpet cleaning services when you can make your own cleaning solutions at home. These solutions can be uses in a shampooing machine or you can apply with your regular household cleaning items and tools.

These homemade carpet cleaning solutions are great for removing spots, treating high-traffic areas, and nearly for all cleaning purposes. Also, there are many different recipes which you can try if one of the solutions doesn’t work for a hard stain so be patient and keep experimenting until you find the best carpet cleaning solution that will get your carpet clean.

Here are some recipes that you can try until you find out the best one.

1. How to make a carpet cleaner and conditioner?This carpet cleaning solution and conditioner is nearly the same as commercial cleaners. It will get your carpet clean, fresh, and soft in addition to its good smelling. Here are the ingredients that you can use to make this carpet cleaning solution and conditioner.• Use 2 tablespoons of home liquid laundry detergent.• Use ¼ cup of liquid all-purpose cleaner.• Use 1 scoop of Oxy-Clean.• Use 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of fabric softener.• Mix all the previous ingredients with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of hot water.

2. How to make an aromatic non-toxic cleaner?If you have a pet or kids, you should use this cleaner especially with the items that the kids and the pets are exposed to them on daily basis as the carpets.Here are the ingredients that you can use to make this carpet cleaner.• Use 1 cup (about 235 ml) of white vinegar• Use 2 cups (about 470 ml) of water.• Use 2 teaspoons (about13 g) of salt.• Mix all the previous ingredients with 15 drops of essential oil, such as lemon, lavender, or pine.

3. How to use a window cleaner to make a simple solution?If you think that window cleaners are just used to clean windows, you are mistaken. Mixing a window cleaner with water will produce a cheap but very effective carpet cleaner for nearly everything; car, house and carpets.Mix equal parts hot water and a window cleaner; it is like Windex.

4. How to make a stronger ammonia-based cleaner?Ammonia cleaners are the most powerful type of cleaners; that is why you have to be very careful while using them because ammonia is a very dangerous corrosive that can cause serious damages to your skin, eyes, lungs, and even certain materials so you need to wear some gloves, and carefully combine in a bucket.Here are the ingredients that you can use to make this carpet cleaner.• Use 1 tablespoon (about 15 ml) of liquid dish detergent.• Use ¼ cup (about 59 ml) of ammonia.•Use ¼ cup (about 59 ml) of vinegar.•Mix the previous ingredients with 3 gallons (about 11 L) of water.

This guide is for our community to learn from it that accidents do happen and they are serious.Water damage accident can be very serious especially if it is combined with contamination which leads to serious health and environmental problems. Water is one of the essential elements for the survival of all creatures on Earth so we need to take water damage accidents especially those related to contamination seriously. Let’s see the most serious water damage accidents through history.

1. U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune: We can sum up what happened in the following points. • The contamination that happened in this camp lasted for about 30 from 1952 to 1987. The number of people that were affected by this accident is estimated by about 500,000.• The chemicals that were found in the water affected the people with fatal diseases such as cancer (nearly all types of cancer), reproductive disorders, birth defects, and many rare conditions.• The symptoms appeared after a while. The families and residents of the camp consumed the water as normal; the water that contains chemicals and carcinogens.• There are some methods to get this water clean like Air Stripping and the evaporation of TCE and Volatile Organic Compounds.• There are some lawsuits and claims against the camp that should be taken seriously.

2. Woburn Massachusetts Water Contamination:We can sum up what happened in the following points. • Adell K. Heneghan at the University of Idaho made a case study that showed that the water of Woburn Massachusetts was contaminated for about 10 years from 1969 to 1979.• The diseases that affected the people there were fatal. There were 12 cases of children affected by leukaemia. The people of the area at the height of the contamination suffered from liver, kidney, prostate, and urinary cancers. Congenital anomalies and birth defects were common too. • The chemicals that present in the water are PCE, TCE, Chloroform, 1, 2 Dichloroethene and Arsenic. To get the water clean, the recommended methods are GAC and Air Stripping.

3. Hinckley Water Contamination: Another example of contamination as a water damage disaster is Hinckley Water Contamination. From 1952 to 1956, many people were reported to fall sick after being exposed to the contaminated water.The chemicals were very nasty and people complained of nearly all types of cancers and birth problems.The pollution was made by dropping hexavalent chromium or Chromium-6 in addition to the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). After the examination of the water, the PBS found that the best effective way to get this water clean is to us an ion exchange treatment unit especially to get rid of Chromium-6.

We have been in the restoration industry for a while and we have enough experience in how to start a good fire damage restoration business. This is our guide for you and we hope it will be beneficial to you.

One of the most important businesses nowadays is fire damage restoration services. It is usually combines with water damage under the name disaster restoration services but some companies specialize in fire damages only.

This business is not as easy as some people think; it is challenging but rewarding. People working in this business care about two main things; the success of their business and how to make the life of their customers easier and help them get over the disaster. Let’s see the most important points that you need to know in order to start your business properly.

1. The basic research:There are two ways to do your basic research.• You can enter the business and try. This will need a lot of determination and a lot of luck too.• You can search well for everything. You will spend some time searching for everything to build up a good strategy then start your business. When you plan for everything, you will fall in fewer mistakes than just jumping in the business. All the questions that you have like whether starting your business from the ground up or buying a franchise will be answered. The big decisions will be small after the research.

2. The Customers and the Competition:

• The Customers:You need to determine your customers to be able to focus your research and target them well. In the beginning, you may accept all kinds of customers but after a while, you will have to choose between your customers. You will have a way to choose the customers that will add to your business.

• The Competition:This is one of the toughest markets so the competition is so high. All the companies want to make their businesses successful and their customers happy by getting them over the rough situations. Discover the strategies of your competitors and try to make better strategies in order to gain more customers.

3. The Certifications and the Equipment:• There are many certifications that you should have when you are in this business. It is not only the essential course but also there are the training courses. The more certified agents you have, the better will be your business and more customers will trust you.

• The Equipment:In the future, you will buy all the equipment used in the business but when you start up your business, you need to have the basic equipment. Moisture meters, air movers, dehumidifiers and cleaning products are what I am talking about. When the company grows up, invest in better equipment.

4. Marketing your business:Hire a digital marketing agency that works with fire damage restoration services. You may think that the marketing process is easy but it is not and you need experts. Even if you are a talented marketing agent, you can save the time you will spend on the marketing and make your business better.

This is our guide for people who see that the toilet is a place that can’t be cleaned. Cleaning the toilet is the task that nearly everyone postpones it mainly because they don’t know what to do. This guide will tell you the three best ways for clearing the toilet so let’s start directly.

1. Deep Cleaning of the toilet:Follow the following steps.• Wear clean gloves. It is preferable to wear waterproof, rubber gloves as toilets are the paradise of bacteria so you will need to keep your hands clean and dry. Keep these gloves at a certain place and tell everyone at the home that they are the gloves of the toilet not to be mixed with other gloves at home.• Wash the whole toilet using hot water first to loosen the dirt and kill most of the organisms.• Use a sponge after putting it in hot water to clean the toilet.• Apply the toilet cleaner to the area that you are about to clean then start rubbing the toilet with the sponge. It is better to read the manufacturer’s instructions to make sure that the type of cleaner you have is suitable for the toilet stains.

2. Quick cleaning of the toilet:Follow the following steps.•You will need certain tools. Rubber gloves, a toilet brush, sanitary wipes, an old, out-of-use toothbrush, clean rags, paper towels and toilet cleaner.• Put on your gloves and scrub the toilet.• Start with the bowl then move to the rest of the toilet.• If there are some stains that will not be removed by only scrubbing, apply some pressure over them.• If the stains are hard to remove, apply the toilet cleaner and scrub again.• Take special care of the top and bottom lids. Clean them on both sides and use every possible method and every possible tool to clean them well. They are among the areas that must be cleaned well even if you are giving your toilet a quick cleaning.• Use a spray and give your toilet a shiny look after finishing your quick cleaning.

3. Cleaning the areas around the toilet: Follow the following steps for the proper cleaning around the toilet.• remove any items on the toilet or around it like boxes and tissues. That is how you will be able to clean under and around them and on the other hand, they will be safe instead of accidentally breaking anything.• Remove the dust and clean the items that you have removed well before putting them back on the toilet.• Clean the floor around the toilet.

4. The final steps: After finishing everything, do the following.• Flush your toilet.• Get the items that you have removed back to their place again.• Take off the gloves and put them in a certain place. Again, tell everybody that these gloves are specific for cleaning the toilet in order not to be mixed with any kind of gloves at home. It is better to clean the gloves by hot water and a cleaner before putting them away.• Wash your hands with hot water and soap to kill any bacteria that escaped from the gloves.

You may buy a carpet cleaner that does not work for the blood stain that you have and you may not know the best way to remove the blood stains.

Blood stains become much harder to be removed when they have dried. When you have a blood stain, start working on it as soon as possible to avoid any damages to your carpet. You may face a blood stain that is easy to remove and you may face a dry blood stain that requires a strong carpet cleaner and method. You also need to be patient to remove the stains properly. This guide will help you to choose the best carpet cleaner and the best method to remove the blood stains without causing damages to your carpet.

1. Fresh Blood:Follow the following steps to remove fresh blood properly.• Use a clean, white cloth or towel by Pressing down and lifting to remove as much fresh blood as you can. When the stain is large, start working on the edges and move towards the center in order not to prevent the blood from spreading.• Rubbing will make the blood get more into the carpet fibers.• Use cold water to spray the stain and leave it for few minutes.• The usage of hot or even warm water will keep the blood stain permanently with the carpet fibers so never use it.• You may absorb the moisture with a wet vacuum cleaner or a carpet extractor.• Always use a white towel to make sure that you are doing fine. • You can use salt paste to remove the stains too by mixing a bowl with cold water.

2. Dried Blood: Use the following steps to remove dried blood properly.• Before using any of the following treatments, use it on a hidden spot of the carpet in order to make sure that it will not damage your carpet especially if it is made of silk or wool. Leave the treatment for about 15 minutes then check the spot out. If it is damaged, consider hiring a professional carpet cleaning agents.•To make the stain easier to be removed, brush it with a dull knife but this step is not recommended if you have a valuable carpet.• Use unflavored meat tenderizer as this chemical breaks down proteins present in the blood stain which makes it easier to remove the blood stains. Never use flavored meat tenderizer as it can create new stain and break down fibers in wool or silk carpets as these kinds of carpets contain animal proteins.

3. General Tips:These tips will avoid you many damages you may cause to your carpet.• Hydrogen peroxide will lighten carpet fibers’ color in order to hide the stain so it is kind of dangerous when used with dark-colored carpets.• Ammonia is great but it may discolor the carpet fibers.• Enzyme carpet cleaners are great but you need to read the instructions well before using them.• Use good air flow to dry the carpet after the usage of the carpet cleaner.

When you work in janitorial services, you know well that there are many risks in this business. Things like putting up signs to warn people about wet floors and teaching your janitorial agents how to deal with heavy objects in order not to be injured will help you to avoid any kind of accidents or damage to your property and of course will avoid you any small business lawsuits.

In order to protect your business financially, you need to have a janitorial services insurance policy.Of course the insurance policy depends on many factors like the business size, the risk exposures and other factors. The following examples will give you an idea about how everything works.

1. General Liability Insurance: This insurance policy protects you and your janitorial services business against many common liabilities like slip-and-fall injuries and damages of your property. Imagine that one of your clients slips down the stairs because you forget to put up a caution sign. This kind of accidents like leads to about seven-figure lawsuit. Fortunately, General Liability Insurance policies can cover any legal expenses which include the fees of the lawyer and any kind of settlements or judgments.

The Following numbers are the average for this coverage.• Median Policy Premium: from 384 to 790 dollars.• Median Policy Limit: about 2 million dollars.• Median Policy Deductible: None.

2. Commercial Property Insurance: This insurance policy covers the costs of repairing or replacing janitorial equipment which has been damaged or lost because of fire, theft, vandalism, or any other event that is covered by the insurance policy. Janitorial services agencies must consider adding a SPICE endorsement to their policy. That is because it offers protection of business income when client premises can't be serviced.

The Following numbers are the average for this coverage.• Median Policy Premium: the best number is 388 dollars nowadays.• Median Policy Limit: It varies.• Median Policy Deductible: it varies.

3. Business Owner's Policy:This insurance policy is designed for janitors who want to save a little amount of money on their insurance policy; a Business Owner's Policy is the best for these people. This insurance policy combines between General Liability and Property Insurance together but at a reduced annual rate. It's only available to small businesses with low risks like janitorial services.

The Following numbers are the average for this coverage.• Median Policy Premium: from 767 to 1,309 dollars.• Median Policy Limit: 2 million dollars.• Median Policy Deductible: 500 dollars.

4. Workers' Compensation Insurance:Laws of almost everywhere usually order janitorial agents to have Workers' Compensation Insurance. It is essential when janitorial agents suffer from workplace injuries or accidents. This insurance policy covers medical bills, replacement wages, and any kind of legal expenses in a lawsuit. Imagine that, an agent falls off a ladder while he was changing light bulbs. This insurance policy can protect your janitorial services business from paying thousands of dollars on medical bills out of your pocket.

The Following numbers are the average for this coverage.• Median Policy Premium: from 1,703 to 3,686 dollars.• Median Policy Limit: 500,000 dollars. • Median Policy Deductible: None.